Collaboration Matters!

This week's DigiLit Challenge, created by my colleague Margaret Simon, is revolving around the topic of collaboration. Collaboration has guided my professional practice for many years. The act of collaborating allows educators to move from silos to a connected universe. Work becomes a shared experience as the collective body of practitioners are joined together.

Social media has exploded across the world. Twitter, as a professional development platform, has afforded connected educators and colleagues the opportunity to notice, wonder, and connect on a world-wide scale. No longer do we work behind close doors and without feedback. We converse, create, and share across the regions, states, and seas. The world flattens with each social media notice we send out. Our voices are heard and valued. 

Today, educators are at a Future Ready Conference in Chicago answering the call to action: Change questions from What did you learn today? to What did you create today? Connected colleagues are ready to fill their buckets with knowledge to create new experiences and new learnings.

Tonight, NYEDChat will collaborate with colleagues from around the world. Invitations have gone out. Responses from around the world are coming back. Tweets, retweets, and favorites are filling my Twitter feed. Educators I know personally or those I have only met virtually are ready to connect and converse. The world of educational chats has opened avenues for all to have important conversations about life and learning. Thoughts are voiced because voice matters. Experiences are shared. Best practices are developed. Colleagues tag others into convos and those who cannot attend the professional development experience can schedule their answers to questions, or read the Storify version of the chat.  

Under the umbrella of collaboration, I have shared the document for tonight's NYEDChat conversation with those around the world. It is here for you to ponder and consider joining in. 

Words are the lifeblood of conversations. Digitalizing your thoughts has become an avenue to share and preserve your creations. The question, What did I create today? is particularly relevant today. With my NYEDChat co-moderators, I created a learning environment where thoughts will be shared in a relaxed, friendly setting. As you see in the above last question, eduinspirations, inspirational quotes/images, will be posed as a final challenge. The purpose is to provide colleagues in the field with the motivation to make this summer of life and learning a rewarding experience for all.  

You can preview eduinspired creations already designed and posted at the Hall of EduHero Voices here. Please feel free to create your own inspired thought that I will add to the Hall. 

This is my parting thought for tonight's collaborative conversation.

So have your guessed what one of my passions is? The Long Island shoreline provides a place to read, relax, write, and take photographs. 

Because creation is the ultimate act of collaboration, it is time to share. Are you ready?

Please remember:

Whether you collaborate with a few or with many, collaboration matters.

You can join DigiLit Sunday by checking with Margaret Simon here.

I am happy to announce that #NYEDChat trended on Twitter tonight. The fast-pace, energized conversation was enjoyed by all.